It is good news that India and Pakistan plan to repatriate prisoners from each other’s countries. Those being considered for this leniency are civilians — minors, women, seniors over 70 years of age, and the mentally infirm.
By N. N. Bhatia
Both countries have also agreed to send a team of doctors to evaluate the mental condition of the detainees.
On humanitarian grounds I appeal to both countries to release all prisoners above 70 years of age, including those who are not civilians. These prisoners, if alive, are all at the end of their lives. It is high time to get them back home to spend their remaining years with their near and dear ones. Let us remember that India returned 96,000 Pakistani prisoners of war (POWs) taken during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
I sincerely believe that the time is right for three crucial points raised below:
1. It is high time to drop the word ‘civilians’ for the over-70 age group of prisoners and request the return of the missing defence personnel from either side.
2.It is possible that the elderly, especially the mentally infirm, are not able to be identified or may be reluctant to be identified for whatsoever reasons. It would, therefore make all the sense in the world for the team of doctors going across from India to Pakistan and vice versa, to collect DNA of all the detainees and match them with their kith and kin in the home country.
3. This seems like the perfect moment to request both governments to return the remains of all the detainees who may have died in prisons across the border to the concerned families to enable them to obtain closure, perform their loved ones’ last rites with dignity, and pursue pensionary benefits and property issues.
These magnanimous gestures will contribute to peaceful relations and goodwill between both countries.
Shared here are lists of the POWs believed to be held on either side, including the ‘Forgotten 54’ of India and the Pakistani POWs in India.
Pakistani POWs believed to be held in India
Note: No Pakistani source has sent me any list of alleged Pakistani POWs in India, despite repeated requests. This is an unverified list, lacking personal numbers, units, dates, circumstances and places of capture.
- Major Ilamuddin Arif Jan
2. Capt. Muhammad Jurjees Nagi
3. Lieutenant Kaleem Muhammad
4. Second. Lt. Muhammad Akhtar
5. Hawaldar Zakir Rehman
6. Hawaldar Muzaffar Ahmad
7. Lance Hawaldar Bagh Hussain8. Lance Naik Abdul Ghani
9. Lance Naik Muhammad Ismail
10. Lance Naik Abdul Rehman
11. Gunner Muhammad Afzal
12. OCU Muhammad Aslam
13. OCU Muhammad Khaliq Khan
14. OCU Aitbar Khan
15. Sapper Abdul Khaliq
16. Sepoy Abdul
17. Sepoy Muhammad Ayub
18. Yaar Gul
Indian POWs believed to be held in Pakistan Army
| Name | Service No. | Unit | |||
| 1 | Major S.P.S. Waraich | IC-12712 | 15 Punjab | ||
| 2 | Major Kanwaljit Singh Sandhu | IC-14590 | 15 Punjab | ||
| 3 | 2/Lt Sudhir Mohan Sabharwal | SS-23957 | 87 Lt Regiment | ||
| 4 | Capt Ravinder Kaura | SS-20095 | 39 Med Regiment | ||
| 5 | Capt Giri Raj Singh | IC-23283 | 5 Assam | ||
| 6 | Capt Om Prakash Dalal | SS-22536 | Grenadiers | ||
| 7 | Maj AK Ghosh | IC-18790 | 15 Rajput | ||
| 8 | Maj AK Suri | SS-19807 | 5 Assam | ||
| 9 | Capt Kalyan Singh Rathod | IC-28148 | 5 Assam | ||
| 10 | Major Jaskiran Singh Malik | IC-14457 | 8 Raj. Rifles | ||
| 11 | Major SC Guleri | IC-20230 | 9 Jat | ||
| 12 | Lt Vijay Kumar Azad | IC-58589 | 1/9 G R | ||
| 13 | Capt Kamal Bakshi | IC-19294 | 5 Sikh | ||
| 14 | 2/ Lt Paras Ram Sharma | SS-22490 | 5/8 G R | ||
| 15 | Capt Vashisht Nathfro | ||||
| 16 | L/Hv. Krishna Lal Sharma | 13719585 | 1 JK Rifles | ||
| 17 | Subedar Assa Singh | JC-41339 | 5 Sikh | ||
| 18 | Subedar Kalidas | JC-59 | 8 JK LI | ||
| 19 | L/Nk Jagdish Raj | 9208735 | Mahar Regiment | ||
| 20 | L/Nk Hazoora Singh | 682211303 | |||
| 21 | Gunner Sujan Singh | 1146819 | 14 Fd Regiment | ||
| 22 | Sepoy Daler Singh | 2461830 | 15 Punjab | ||
| 23 | Gnr Pal Singh | 1239603 | 181 Lt Regiment | ||
| 24 | Sepoy Jagir Singh | 2459087 | 16 Punjab | ||
| 25 | Gnr Madan Mohan | 1157419 | 94 Mountain Regiment | ||
| 26 | Gnr Gyan Chand | ||||
| 27 | Gnr Shyam Singh | ||||
| 28 | L/NkBalbir Singh | ||||
| 29 | S B S Chauhan | ||||
Indian Air Force
| Name | Service No. | Unit | |
| 1 | Sq Ldr Mohinder Kumar Jain | 5327-F(P) | 27 Sqn |
| 2 | Flt Lt Sudhir Kumar Goswami | 8956-F(P) | 5 Sqn |
| 3 | Flying Officer Sudhir Tyagi | 10871-F(P) | 27 Sqn |
| 4 | Flt Lt Vijay Vasant Tambay | 7662 -F(P) | 32 Sqn |
| 5 | Flt Lt Nagaswami Shanker | 9773-F(P) | 32 Sqn |
| 6 | Flt Lt Ram Metharam Advani | 7812-F(P) | JBCU |
| 7 | Flt Lt Manohar Purohit | 10249(N) | 5 Sqn |
| 8 | Flt Lt Tanmaya Singh Dandoss | 8160-F(P) | 26 Sqn |
| 9 | Wg Cdr Hersern Singh Gill | 4657-F(P) | 47 Sqn |
| 10 | Flt Lt Babul Guha | 5105-F(P) | |
| 11 | Flt Lt Suresh Chander Sandal | 8659-F(P) | 35 Sqn |
| 12 | Sqn. Ldr. Jal Manikshaw Mistry | 5006-F(P) | |
| 13 | Flt Lt Harvinder Singh | 9441-F(P) | 222 Sqn |
| 14 | Sqn Ldr Jatinder Das Kumar | 4896-F(P) | 3 Sqn |
| 15 | Flt Lt LM Sassoon | 7419-F(P) | JBCU |
| 16 | Flt Lt Kushalpal Singh Nanda | 7819-F(N) | 35 Sqn |
| 17 | Flg Offr. Krisha Lakhimal Malkani | 10576-F(P) | 27 Sqn |
| 18 | Flt Lt Ashok Balwant Dhavale | 9030-F(P) | 1 Sqn |
| 19 | Flt Lt Shrikant Chanderkant Mahajan | 10239-F(P) | 5 Sqn |
| 20 | Flt Lt Gurdev Singh Rai | 9015-F(P) | 27 Sqn |
| 21 | Flt Lt Ramesh Gulabrao Kadam | 8404-F(P) | TACDE |
| 22 | Flg Offr. KP Murlidharan | 10575-F(P) | 20 Sqn |
| 23 | Naval Pilot Lt. Cdr Ashok Roy | ||
| 24 | Sqn Ldr Devaprasad Chatterjee | ||
| 25 | Plt Offr Tejinder Singh Sethi |
Since retiring from the Indian Army Col. N.N. Bhatia, a prolific writer and social worker, has been working for humanitarian causes like repatriation of POWs from both India and Pakistan. Email: [email protected],
Additional information at: India-Pakistan prisoners – fishermen, POWs, and more.
